Nemesis: Reborn – Opening Day
Exciting weekend ahead, Nemesis returning to the UK coaster line up after a year of hiatus in 2023 top be retracked and completely rethemed. I remember my last ride on Nemesis after fireworks on November 2022, and it was a massive gap in the line up for 2023.
We travelled up the Friday night and stayed in Splash landings for 2 nights, we got a really got rate for this of £90pp for the 2 nights as we had booked with annual pass discount before Nemesis was announced as opening – a gamble that paid off
After an enjoyable meal in Flambos buffet and a few drinks, we got to bed…. Only to wake up at 6am, with lots of excitement! 6am wake up, 7 am buffet breakfast, ready to be at the Galactica gate for 8am ( a great perk for hotel guests, and this was managed well – you had to have a wristband to se this entrance!).
The queue at the galactica gate was already massive, however it has batchers, 2 lanes in use and all tickets were pre scanned. Unfortunately, the gates opened 2 or 3 minutes after towers street, meaning by the time we did bag check and got to nemesis… the queue was already 2 hours.
The excitement was building, the first test run sent around the track, then the first train, loads of cheering and clapping, the atmosphere in the whole of forbidden valley was amazing. We got our ride….. BACK ROW, brilliant, my favourite row for my first ride on Nemesis Reborn, and she was running as well as I remember!
I will do a sperate review for Nemesis reborn soon, so lets carry on with the day… we decided to go to the shop, which also had a queue using the old Flunk and Fly site. Unfortunately there was lots of mud in this area, thing that should have been picked up on before opening. We queued about 25 minutes and got in. I purchased the Black denim jacket (currently sold out) and a nemesis ride bolt. Pricey for both, however there was a hoodie labelled at something crazy like £80, so glad I got what I got.
Nemesis beer – god the fiasco, we thought this was sold in the shop but was actually in the coffee shop so missed out, my friends got some when they restocked (Thank you so much!) these are apparently limited to 1000, if you ever see some back on the self, I recommend buying!.
We then left the valley, had some food at woodcutters and managed to get on 13, oblivion, Wickerman and the curse. Hex is still down for its maintenance which is a shame. The skyride is also closed for 2024, making moving around the park a lot harder. Now lets get onto the thing everyone wanted, thanks to Alton After Dark – a Nemesis Reborn Night ride! However this was not to be the case….
We were in the queue about 7:15, security walked behind us, maybe 2 or 3 groups behind, queue at capacity. Great, means we are in for our ride. Nemesis broke down…. Train on the lift and one on the break run… that’s ok can be fixed easily right. Oh how I was so wrong, the ride was broken for approx. 45 minute, the operator and management saying we can stay if we like and “if you are towards the back of the queue we recommend trying other rides and attractions”. This is the normal breakdown spiel… however one very rude staff member came up to us, put a torch in our faces and said “get out”, and “leave or im calling security”. Basically forcing everyone out of the queue with no compensation. I will say it was only this one staff member that weas rude and others in the area (the team in the red coats) were very chatty and understood why we were a tad annoyed about how we were spoken to. The same staff member told us nemesis will not reopen tonight… which was a slight fib, those who refused to leave the queue got a ride once it was evacuated and restarted…. Not impressed and I have left my feedback with towers. Just lift a bit of a nasty taste when leaving the Saturday evening, shame.
It was great to get back on Nemesis, please people remember to be nice to the staff as certain things can be out of their control. But being someone who is always chatty and respectful to staff, I did not expect the customer service I got from the phalanx member at the entrance to Nemesis Reborn. By the way to end on a positive, try the new chicken wings/strips place (where the old burger kitchen used to be) in forbidden valley… its essentially a wingstop and after pass discount was £10 for a 5 chicken strip meal which was great value for the quality!
Next weekend….. Back to Thorpe Park!!!!
See you then 😀
